This is the news we have woken up to this morning. The News of the World are running this article today and have said that Ashley Cole has had a meeting with Carlo Ancelotti and has said he wants to leave Chelsea because of his personal situation outside of football.

The article quotes a source close to Chelsea and they have said:

"It was a very amicable meeting, but Ashley made it clear that because of his personal situation he feels it is in his best interests to leave the club. He told Ancelotti that he will be very sad to leave and that it had been a privilege playing for the club during such a successful time in its history.

Ashley was told that he would have to go and see the chairman, which he hasn't done yet and he has not handed in a formal transfer request. He knows Ancelotti wants him to stay, but he feels that moving abroad is the only way he can escape the attention after what happened with Cheryl and the other stories about his private life."